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Investigation

The Darkwater Saga

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Recommended Series
Series Title: Darkwater Saga by Patrick W. Carr
First Book: The Shock of Night
Who it’s for: Teens & Adults

Brief Synopsis: A clean (no sex, gore, or swearing) medieval fantasy mystery with twists & turns, warring religions, gifted peoples, secret societies, battles between forces of good & evil, and complex characters that make one feel all the emotions set in one epic story told in 4 parts.

Review: The Darkwater Saga takes place in the fictional kingdom of Collum. Our hero is Willet Dura, a reeve, aka the King’s investigator. He fell in love with a Lady of the realm; so as a favor the King has made Willet a Lord; now they may marry. Willet is not a well-respected Lord or noble since he was not born to it and works a regular job. Willet is also looked down on and basically thought to be a little crazy because he survived a night in the Darkwater Woods. Everybody knows folks die or come out insane after a night in the Darkwater. 😬😨😱 Willet is even more suspect because he cannot remember his time in the Darkwater. Despite these difficulties, Lord Willet Dura is content as a typical working man.

Now the fantasy aspect comes in to play because in Collum there are people who are gifted. After Willet’s time in the Darkwater, he sometimes wakes up with blood on his clothes and no memory of how it got there. All Willet knows is that there is sure to have been a murder. A great thing for an investigator but is it a gift or a curse?

If one starts with book 1, The Shock of Night, many aspects of this world are not fully explained until almost the end of the book. I believe the author, Patrick W. Carr, wrote the free prequel, By Divine Right because some readers wanted more world building before they jumped right into the adventure. I learned about the prequel after reading book 1. The prequel is available on most major ebook platforms for free!😁👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

In Collum, there are folks that are gifted. They are the upper class in society. Gifts of uncanny physical strength, music, mental ability, and other talents can be passed down in families. A relative typically inherits gifts but sometimes they go to an apprentice. The gifted can give it to them before they die. Most gifted train their successors so they know how to use their gift properly. Sometimes gifts can “go rogue” when the gifted person is unable to pass it on their appointed successor. That is what happens to our hero, Lord Willet Dura in The Shock of Night.  Willet wakes up with mystery blood on his clothes and knows he will be investigating a murder. For the first time, Willet finds the victim still alive. The stranger lives just long enough to pass his gift to Willet.  A gift that comes with additional responsibilities which Willet soon discovers he would rather not have. The dying man belonged to a group called the Vigil. The Vigil is a group of gifted individuals who seek to vanquish the evil in their world. They are like magical Navy Seals or very limited in power X-men.  Willet does not like this whatsoever but he has a mystery to solve. 🕵️‍♂️

Thus begins the epic adventure of Lord Willet Dura saving the kingdom of Collum from evil. There are many heartaches. At times, it seems like all hope is lost but good does triumph…eventually. Many battles against evil forces will ensue. Some characters will die or be seriously injured. All of them will have injuries to their soul. Miracles will happen. Revelations will be brought to light. Many (unlikely) lifelong friendships will be formed as Willet is joined/joins others to fight the evil that is trying to engulf the kingdom of Collum. They do win in the end. But every win was hard won with blood, sweat, and tears aplenty.😫😭

If you read Sharon Kay Penman’s 4 book series of medieval mysteries featuring Justin de Quincey as the investigator, you will like Lord Willet Dura and his investigative style. If you enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies, you will enjoy the medieval adventure, magical happenings, and teamwork found in this series.  I read this series because I liked his Sword and the Staff series. While looking for something similar to Stephen R. Lawhead, I discovered Patrick W.Carr under the tag of Christian fantasy. A Christian publisher, Baker, publishes Carr’s books but neither of his series are what I think of as Christian fiction. Carr’s books are clean and have few things in them that might offend a Christian but are definitely not what I would classify as a Christian fantasy novel like say C.S. Lewis. I recommend the series to teens and adults that can handle violence, character deaths, and hard emotions. None of the books are standalones.  All the novels pickup right where one book ends. Luckily, the series is finished and no need to wait a year or more for the rest of the story.🎉😀

Patrick W. Carr’s Darkwater Saga is available on Hoopla!

The Fall

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Recommended TV Series
The Fall by Acorn Media
Who it’s for: Adults

Brief Synopsis: Psychological thriller where a senior police officer from England is brought to Belfast, Ireland to lead the hunt for a serial killer.

Review: I was on hoopladigital.com browsing the tag Crime. I was in the mood for a new police procedural to watch. The cover caught my eye when I recognized Gillian Anderson from The X-Files and Jamie Doran from Fifty Shades. I have not watched many British productions. The ones I have watched have been mostly comedies produced by BBC television. This is a drama produced by Acorn, which, judging by the promotional images, probably lacked humor. I had only watched two BBC dramas but I absolutely loved them (Sherlock and Orphan Black). They were not original story concepts (there are only so many). To me the stories were produced, written, directed, and acted in completely fresh and new ways. The Fall is a TV show about the hunt for a serial killer that focuses on the killer and the police officer hunting him.  I predicted The Fall would tell this unoriginal idea in a way that I had never experienced before that would leave an impression just like Sherlock and Orphan Black.

Thankfully, I guessed correctly. 😁

The Fall seemed like it would be a darker version of Dexter, the Showtime TV series about a serial killer. I really, really, really liked Dexter. I was a little concerned that there might be gore, graphic murders, or rape scenes. I checked the reviews and was assured that was not the case. The Fall was not like Dexter where I got to know almost every aspect of the serial killer and the detectives hunting him. In The Fall, the murder victims and the other people in their lives are not the relationships that captured my attention. I am not sure if it is because it is a British production or an aspect of their culture but even by the end of the series both main characters are still a little like work associates not close friends. The TV show did reveal some things about their personalities and relationships with others that kept me very interested. It was not enough for me to truly root for one or the other. It was a great story but not one that invested too many emotions for me except excitement and anticipation of what comes next. At one point or another, I felt sympathy for Paul, Gibson, the murder victims, the police officers Gibson showed up by being brilliant, and Paul’s family. However, unlike in USA tv shows where I truly felt an emotional connection with the characters, if Paul or Gibson did something out of character, I would be annoyed but not highly upset (like I was with the last season of Dexter. 😤 still mad about that disaster of a season!)

Another reason I decided to watch this show is that it is a British TV drama. The entire TV series ends fairly quickly. It only has 3 seasons (or series as they call it). I consider this a binge worthy series. Every season it felt like Gibson was going to catch Paul or he would turn himself in or something.  I must say that is very good production, writing, and acting when I know a TV show lasts for 3 seasons but almost every episode kept me on the edge of my seat. That is the only reason I binged it. Normally I take my time with TV series; watching 1-2 episodes a day; finishing it in 3 or 4months. With The Fall, I could not wait for my hoopla checkouts to renew. I got the physical DVD copies and watched the entire 3 seasons in about 2 weeks. BINGE. WORTHY. I looked for similar shows. I was told about the Netflix series You which is based on a novel written by Caroline Kepnes. I may check one of them out or both.🤷🏾‍♀️🤔

Find it on hoolpadigital.com or check out the series on DVD!

The Late Show

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The Late Show by Michael Connelly
Overdrive Audiobook
Narrated by Katherine Moennig
Who it’s for:  Adults

Fans of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch Mysteries, will love this book.  The Late Show is the first in Connelly’s new series called the Renee Ballard Novels.

After filing a sexual harassment complaint against her supervisor, LAPD Detective Renee Ballard has been reassigned to the night shift.  Protocol requires her to give her cases to the day shift each morning.  But two new cases, the death of a young woman in a nightclub and the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in parking lot, have her so intrigued she refuses to pass them on.

While secretly searching for justice for these two victims, against her partner’s wishes and department orders, Renee Ballard finds her courage, determination, and intuition tested.  Her career and her life are on the line.  As fear mounts and the cases become more intriguing, Harry Bosch, who never seems too far removed from the most notorious cases of the LAPD, steps in to assist.
Find it on Overdrive